Preparing Your Mind to Shape the Future

Positive Leadership Newsletter – January 2026 Season 12: The Future We Shape 

A personal reflection — why this season starts here 

Every season of my life that truly mattered started the same way: not with a plan, not with a strategy, but with clarity. 

Looking back over the last 5 decades of my personal life including my forty years of leadership at Microsoft, through key moments of transformation, success, doubt, loss, and renewal — I can see it clearly now: the future I was able to shape always depended on the state of my mind at the moment I made decisions. 

Not the busiest moments. Not the toughest ones. But the moments when I slowed down enough to ask myself: 

What truly matters now? What future am I consciously shaping through the way I show up today? 

That is why this new season of the Positive Leadership Newsletter begins here. Before we talk about education, youth, leadership models, or communities, we must start with the place where all futures are shaped first: our minds 

Creating clarity: intention before direction 

One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned is this: before you set directions for others, you need to create clarity for yourself. clarity is not a luxury — it is a leadership responsibility. 

When our minds are cluttered, reactive, or overloaded, we don’t choose the future — we drift into it. 

In my conversation with Tara Swart, she explained something that deeply resonated with me: our brains are constantly scanning the world, but they only notice what we intentionally prime them to see. Intention quite literally shapes perception. 

That insight echoes what Ranjay Gulati has shown in his work on purpose-driven organizations: leaders who are clear about why they exist — personally and collectively — make better decisions, especially under pressure. Purpose is not a slogan; it is a filter. 

Over time, I’ve adopted a simple internal discipline: before committing to anything significant, I pause and ask myself: 

Does this decision move me closer to the future I want to help shape? 

If the answer is unclear, the decision waits. Clarity always comes before speed. 

Being present: focusing on what truly matters 

If clarity defines direction, focus determines impact. 

In a world of constant interruption, focus has become one of the rarest — and most underestimated — human and leadership skills. That’s why my conversation with Dandapani was so striking. 

He reminded me of something deceptively simple: where your awareness goes, your energy flows. 

Focus is not about doing more. It is about doing less — but with full presence. 

In practice, this has changed the way I lead. I try to be fully present in conversations. I protect blocks of deep thinking time. I resist the temptation to multitask during moments that matter — because people can feel when your attention is fragmented. 

Leadership presence is not performative. It is felt. 

And when leaders are present, teams feel safer, more engaged, more willing to contribute their best thinking. 

Thriving through rest and perspective 

For many years, like many leaders, I believed endurance was a virtue. Then life — and experience — taught me otherwise. 

My conversation with Arianna Huffington reinforced a truth I had gradually learned the hard way: you cannot shape a meaningful future from a depleted state. 

Rest is not the opposite of ambition. It is what makes ambition sustainable. 

Sleep, perspective, silence, time away from screens — these are not indulgences. They are strategic assets. They allow us to reconnect with meaning, to regain creativity, and to avoid becoming prisoners of urgency. 

I’ve learned to protect recovery time with the same discipline I once reserved for meetings. Because when leaders model rest and pause, they give others permission to do the same — and cultures change. 

A rested mind sees possibilities that an exhausted one simply cannot. 

Generating and communicating positive energy 

Finally, there is one dimension of leadership that is often invisible, yet profoundly contagious: energy. 

In my exchange with Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology, we spoke about flourishing — not as a feel-good concept, but as a serious leadership imperative. Teams don’t just respond to strategy; they respond to emotional climate. 

That insight is reinforced by the work of Kim Kameron, who shows that positive leadership is not naïve optimism. It is about amplifying strengths, meaning, and hope — especially in difficult times. 

Over the years, I’ve seen how leaders set the emotional tone. Not through speeches, but through presence, curiosity, encouragement, and the way they respond to adversity. 

Positive energy doesn’t deny reality. It expands it. 

It reminds people that progress is possible, that effort matters, and that the future is still open. 

Looking ahead 

This month is the foundation of everything that will follow in this season. 

In February, we will explore how the narratives we choose — and challenge — shape the future we believe is possible. Then we will move outward: communities, education, youth, leadership models, and finally the changemakers who will build what comes next. 

But none of that works if we skip this first step. 

The future is not shaped by exhausted, distracted, or cynical leaders. It is shaped by leaders who are mentally prepared, intentional, present, and grounded. 

A reflection for you 

As you step into this new year, I invite you to pause and reflect: 

What inner habit, belief, or discipline would most help you shape the future you aspire to build? 

Clarity? Focus? Rest? Positive energy? 

Choose one — and start there. 

If this reflection resonates with you, I invite you to: 

• Subscribe to the Positive Leadership Newsletter to follow this full season, The Future We Shape 

• Revisit the podcast episodes with Martin Seligman, Tara Swart, Arianna Huffington, Dandapani, and Ranjay Gulati for deeper insights 

• Share in the comments the one practice you want to strengthen this month — your commitment might inspire someone else 

The future is not waiting for us. 

It is responding to how we lead — starting now. 

Warmly,

Jean-Philippe Courtois 

👉 Discover more episodes and resources at jpcourtois.com